Canada’s historic 2026 FIFA World Cup run is over. Morocco made sure of it with a performance that started uncertainly and ended ruthlessly.
Azzedine Ounahi scored twice in the second half as Morocco beat the co-hosts, 3-0, at NRG Stadium in Houston, booking a quarterfinal date against France on Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Soufiane Rahimi added a late third in stoppage time to put the final shine on a result that was closer than the scoreline suggests for long stretches—and then wasn’t.
Morocco arrived in Houston on an unbeaten run of 33 matches and with semifinal pedigree from Qatar four years ago. Canada arrived having reached the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time in their history, buoyed by a home crowd and the kind of tournament momentum that had made them one of the stories of the group stage.
The Canadians started the brighter of the two. Jonathan David’s angled effort from an early corner was palmed away by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou—Canadian-born, raised in Casablanca, one of football’s more layered backstories—and Tani Oluwaseyi forced another fine reaction save when he burst into the penalty area shortly after. Morocco, second best through much of the first half, were helped by Bounou in ways the Canadians could not have anticipated.
An early blow complicated things for the Atlas Lions. Ismael Saibari—who has just completed a move to Bayern Munich—went off after 22 minutes and was replaced by Rahimi. Morocco barely threatened in the opening period beyond Rahimi’s long-range effort that Canada keeper Maxime Crepeau gathered comfortably. Everything changed five minutes after the restart.
Morocco Get on the Board—and Never Look Back
Captain Achraf Hakimi rolled a free kick from the right to the edge of the penalty area, and Ounahi swept it into the bottom corner with a low, precise finish. The goal broke Canada’s resistance—and once it broke, it did not recover.
Canada went close when David clipped a free kick over from the edge of the area, and Bounou made yet another fine save to tip away a dipping long-range effort from Tajon Buchanan. But with Alphonso Davies again on the bench, Canada’s attack lacked the cutting edge needed to pull level against a Moroccan side that grew more dangerous the more the game opened up.
The second goal settled it. With eight minutes remaining, Brahim Diaz fed Ounahi on the counter, and the Girona midfielder finished clinically to double the advantage. Rahimi then struck the crossbar with a header before sweeping home a third in stoppage time following another swift breakaway—adding gloss to a winning margin that flatters Morocco somewhat but reflects their composure in the final third.
Still Unbeaten and Looking for More
Ounahi was the clear standout with his brace, but this was a collective defensive performance that Canada simply could not crack once the goals started falling. Morocco’s unbeaten run stretches on. Their quarterfinal clash with France—two of the tournament’s sharpest attacking sides, a rematch of their Qatar semifinal meeting that France won 2-0—promises to be one of the standout matches of the round.
Canada leave Houston with pride intact and history already made. Reaching the last 16 of a home World Cup, for the first time in the country’s footballing history, is not nothing. The defeat stings. The achievement endures.
“It was tough mentally to watch,” Alphonso Davies said. He had a front-row seat from the bench.
Morocco are through. France await. The quarterfinals are getting serious.
